


A Different Person

by orphan_account



Category: Outlast (Video Games)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-10
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-08 14:08:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4308033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gluskin is a horrible person, terrible really. Around him, Waylon's consumed with terror.<br/>But... Could all of that be only a mask?<br/>Could that personality exist only inside of the asylum?<br/>Would he be murdered in the middle of the night if he trusted Eddie?</p>
<p>If he could fall in love with Eddie outside of the asylum, would he ever be able to fall in love with him inside?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Waylon was running as hard as he could. He jumped 2 tables, and darted out the door. The footsteps behind him were a little ways off, he'd surprised his attacker. What he didn't realize, though, was that his attacker was a lot faster than he was. The footsteps were gaining. And even worse: Dead end. The way ahead was blocked by a metal gate. But Waylon's eyes caught a bit of hope, there was a hole in the top. He clambered up to it, and it was just big enough for him to get through. He landed on the other side, unharmed. Eddie, on the other hand, was steamed. “You whore!” He screamed as he rattled the gate. Waylon thought he was free, until Eddie picked up a metal bar from the rubble, and in two good swings he had broken the lock. The rubble was still blocking the rusty gate, but it would only buy Waylon a few extra moments. He ran down the nearest hallway, the gate squeaking open behind him. Dead end. Eddie was at the end of the hallway.  
“Now, Darling...” Eddie cooed, holding his arms open, as though Waylon would run into them, slowly walking toward him. “There's nowhere to go. Come now, let's get you home.” Waylon's eyes darted around the hallway for a means of escape. There! An elevator shaft. Without even pausing a moment, he jumped, and caught a maintenance ladder leaning against the far wall. For an amazing moment, he thought he had escaped. Then the ladder began to bend, and he realized that the bars were far too rusty to hold him. They broke beneath his feet, and then he was falling, until he hit hard onto the the elevator below. Adrenaline was pumping through his veins. His ankle had gone right through the top of the elevator. To his horror, a large chunk of metal was embedded in his ankle. He gripped it, and yanked it out, crying out at the sudden rush of pain. Eddie was yelling down to him, something about him being okay, and how incredibly stupid it was. He was only half listening. The elevator started moving up, and Waylon was able to crawl onto the next floor.  
“What have you...? Ha! Then we continue!” Eddie called, and Waylon heard him start running. He was on his way down. He struggled, and finally was able to get on his feet, it hurt to put weight on it. He couldn't run, couldn't even walk right. He had to limp very slowly.  
“I know you won't get far on that ankle, Darling,” Eddie cooed a long way behind him. Waylon kept going. He was lost. “That part of you the world sees, they think it's perfect. As God intended. Even these idiots and lunatics see it. There's something special about you. On the surface.” Eddie was following him, a whole hallway behind him. Waylon could hear every word. “But when they look deeper, when anybody with eyes to see looks at what you truly are.” Eddie was matching his slow pace. Waylon limped down another hallway. “That's why they don't trust you. You're not what you're meant to be. Not yet.” Waylon entered a room, and then another. Eddie was coming closer. He was following at 15 feet now. “This place can see into your mind. And the things you've done. Oh, they're a sin, Darling.” Waylon entered a room that was blocked with debris. A single path cut through it. Without somewhere to turn around, he took it. Eddie was ten feet behind him. “But a flower is only as sweet as the soil that nourishes it. And yours needs nourishing, and pruning, and care.” The path led to a dead end. A door stood there, but it was locked. Around it were lockers, scattered about. Waylon slipped inside one, in the hope that maybe he wouldn't be found. “...Hmm...Close. I can... the smell of my love's arbor. Darling, you can't hide from me.” Waylon let out a little gasp as Eddie appeared in front of the locker, and he heard the unmistakable sound of a lock closing him in. He pushed on the door, but it was tight.  
Eddie looked into the hole in the front of the locker. “You make yourself a gift for me. A delicacy to be unwrapped... And unwrapped again. And savored.” Waylon was terrified. He let out a shriek, as the locker was laid on its back. It was good to be off his ankle, but he was too terrified to think of much else. “Here we go, and-” Eddie gave a grunt, and the locker moved forward. Waylon couldn't see anything but the lights on the ceiling. “I've been a little... Vulgar, I know. And I want to say, I'm sorry. I just... You know how a man gets when he wants to know a woman. But after the ceremony, when I've made an honest woman of you... I promise I'll be a different man.” Waylon wondered what horrors were in store for him. “I want a family, a legacy. To be the father I never had. I'll never let anything happen to our children. Not like...” He didn't finish. Waylon's heart was pounding in his chest, as the locker stopped moving, and Eddie grunted, setting it right side up. “You'll have to wait here. I know you must be just as eager as I am to consummate our love. But try to enjoy the anticipation.” Eddie stepped away from the locker a moment, and Waylon caught sight of the horrible scene in front of him. A bloody operating table, with a buzzsaw at the end. Various bodies, and body parts hung from the ceiling. It was horrible. “Here, Darling. This will help you relax,” Eddie cooed, and sprayed some kind of gas through the hole, directly into Waylon's face. He choked, and after a few seconds slipped unconscious.  
Waylon was half conscious. His head hurt horribly. Someone was screaming. There was a man on the table outside. Eddie's voice was there, but Waylon had trouble concentrating on it. His mind was foggy. “Darling I need you to try to bleed less. I know the fairer sex often endure the same wounds with more suffering, but you really need to make an effort,” Eddie stabbed his knife through the man's lower region. Waylon started falling unconscious again, as Eddie slit his throat. “No. I'm so sorry, Darling. Love isn't for everybody.” Waylon blacked out as Eddie shoved him off the table.  
“Hold still now, Darling. All these unsightly hairs. Oh! Silky smooth. Like a little girl again. Now the moe delicate bits.” Screaming started again, Waylon slipped under again. When he snapped back to reality, Eddie had the buzzsaw spinning. “You've given up. You're ugly, and you've given up on love. You're not even worth stringing up. Bleed here and die.” Eddie killed him with the saw. Waylon was coming out of it. He was very faintly there. Hands holding him. Something hard beneath him, and then it was cold. He came to after a few minutes. His head was no longer foggy, whatever was in that gas, he'd woken up from it.  
He was freezing. Looking down, he realized why. He was completely naked. He was laying on the operating table. All of the horrors he'd half seen rushed forward to his head, as vivid as though he'd just seen them. Terror and dread swelled within him. He tried to move, but couldn't. The table had wooden boards around it, and his wrists, and ankles had been tied on either side. He was disoriented. Then he realized what was in store for him. The bloody, extremely sharp buzzsaw was staring him in the face, or rather, his nether region was aimed right at it.  
“You have amazing bone structure. Such soft skin. You're going to be beautiful.” Eddie appeared over the edge of the table, grinning madly. He tightened the rope on one of his ankles. “A woman... has to suffer some things. It's not pleasant, I know. But just try to... endure. For my sake. For the sake of our children.” Eddie smiled widely at Waylon's terror. “It won't take long. A few snips of the flesh here, and here.” Eddie gestured to Waylon's chest. “Cut away everything... Vulgar.” Eddie glared at the “vulgarity” he was about to remove. “A soft place to welcome my seed. To grow our family.” Waylon squirmed uncomfortably as Eddie traced his inner thigh. Then he stepped away and the buzzsaw began to spin with a loud whirring noise. It was going fast, too fast. “The incision will hurt. And the conception. And birthing is never easy.” Eddie gave a pull, and the whole table jerked. “I'll make the cut fast. Just close your eyes, and think of our children.” Eddie gave the table another experimental jerk, and then he started to move it. Waylon's heart was pounding in his ears, panicked breaths in his throat. The saw was inching closer and closer. It was too fast. He could just see the sharp blades digging into his skin, splattering blood all over the room. Just before the blade touched his skin, a sudden crash echoed throughout the room, and a monsterous man entered, and ran straight at Gluskin. They began fighting, and chased each other into the hallway. The saw slowed to a stop, and one of the boards on the table had been broken. Waylon was free. His clothes lay in a heap on the floor, and he gratefully pulled them on, limping out of the room. He was still too slow. He needed somewhere to hide. He had only gone through two rooms, before he heard the horrible voice behind him.  
“Darling, where are you?” Eddie called somewhere behind him.  
Waylon started to limp as fast as he could.  
“Oh Darling...” Eddie was 20 feet behind him, following him again. “This is really quite sad... Let me love you.” He was gaining. Waylon was going as fast as he could. Eddie sighed. “Very well, Darling. If you want a chase, I'll chase. But when I catch you, it's time to go home. But I'll give you a fair shot. You have thirty seconds.” Eddie leaned against the wall, watching Waylon go, and counting aloud. “One, Two, Three....”  
There! Waylon saw it. A computer lab. One window was open, and he slipped inside. His belt got caught briefly. He started struggling with it. “Twenty-Eight... Twenty-Nine... Thirty... Here I come, Darling.” Waylon struggled, and finally his belt came free! For an exhilirating moment, he had freedom in his grasp, and started wiggling inside. Then the heavy footsteps slowly walked around the corner, and then ran. Hands closed around his ankle. “That's cheating, Darling. Come now.” Waylon struggled, and Eddie squeezed. Hard. Waylon gasped and went limp. Eddie gave on his grip. “There now, stop trying to get away.” Eddie began to gently pull him, and Waylon gave a good kick. Eddie dropped his ankle, and howled in pain, clutching his nose.. Waylon tumbled inside. Eddie calmed down after a few minutes. “You're lucky you didn't break my nose, you whore.”  
The computer lab was perfect for hiding in. Eddie was too big to come in through the window, and part of the ceiling had collapsed in front of the door. Eddie pounded, and commanded, and pleaded, anything that would get him to come out. Waylon sat on the floor, and caught his breath for a minute.  
“Very well, Darling. You know, you really have no choice in the matter. But I will wait until you come to that decision on your own,” Eddie gave a great sigh. “I'll wait out here. No food or water for you, until you're ready to come home.”  
Eddie nailed the window shut, and had started clearing the debris away from the door. “I'll make it in there eventually, Darling, you might as well give up now.” “Won't you just come now? It would be so much easier...” “I have a beautiful meal, and fresh water here as soon as you're ready!” Eddie called all these things and more as he worked on the door, meanwhile, Waylon was sitting in a corner of the room, looking over his options for escape.  
He began to think. He had a few desks, and some computers, no windows, no doors. Then it hit him. There was a vent. He hadn't noticed it before. He pushed one of the tables over, and stood on it to reach. The grate was loose, but it still had screws in it, he shook it and pulled, and after a few minutes it finally opened with a creak. He crawled inside, and replaced the grate as neatly as he could, and from his vantage point, he saw Eddie barge into the room. Eddie searched for him everywhere, calling sweetly to him, but when he discovered that Waylon had somehow disappeared into thin air, he was beside himself.  
Waylon had escaped just in time. Until, of course, he realized how much dust was in this old vent, and sneezed. Eddie peered into the grate, and threw it open. He reached for him, but Waylon was just out of reach.  
Eddie screamed and cursed him as he crawled away, but it was late, and he was going to be ok. He took off his shirt, and used it to sleep on in the vent. It was a little stuffy and dusty, but he was worn out enough, that it wasn't hard to do.

He woke up the next morning, and crawled through the vents until he found an opening. When he came to the first one, though, it had been tied shut. He could see a chain wrapped around the vent, holding the grate closed. Waylon moved on, but found another one in the same fashion. He turned back the way he had come, and the computer room grate had been boarded up.  
Waylon wondered how in the world Eddie had managed to block every grate in just one night, but somehow he had. He kept moving. Every grate was chained shut or boarded up. He finally saw one that was free, and was just about to try to open it, when he realized that below it was an empty closet, with nothing for him to stand on to get back to the vent.  
He finally found the vent that connected to the rest of the asylum. Eddie would never leave this ward. Freedom was a few feet away, and then Waylon let out a shriek, as a blade jammed through the bottom of the grate. Again, and again. After several holes had been cut, a pair of hands peeled back the thin metal exterior.  
“Darling, I've had enough of these games,” Eddie warned, looking not angry, but tired. A tone of warning was in his voice. “Come now, the game is over.” Waylon started crawling in the other direction, and with a horrible crashing noise, Eddie had sliced through the rest of the vent. “Come now, or I'm coming in after you.” Waylon crawled faster. Eddie couldn't fit through the grate, but he could definitely fit through an opening like that. His shoulders were just able to fit in the shaft, though he had to crawl awkwardly in order to move. Waylon didn't look at him, but when Eddie moved through the vent it made a terrible scraping noise. He had no idea what Eddie was bringing with him, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. He rounded a corner, and a sudden loud banging noise echoed throughout the vent, shaking everything. Terror erupted through him and he hid in a corner, trembling. More scraping, and then again with the loud banging. Waylon cowered in the corner.  
“When you're ready to come down, I'll be waiting,” Eddie called, and his noises grew farther and farther away, and then stopped. Waylon listened, but he heard nothing. He started to crawl forward, but after a little while, he came to a blocked shaft. He touched it, it was solid wood. He crawled back the way he'd come, and after going a ways more, he discovered the same thing. He was trapped. Eddie had encased him in his own little box. There were three grates. One was boarded up, one was chained, and one was unlocked, but it led to the empty closet, with nothing in it. He pushed on the boards covering the grate. They were loose. He pushed and pushed, until finally they gave. It was a small room, only slightly bigger than the closet, with a desk in it. Waylon quietly slipped out of the vent, and gently tried the door. It wasn't locked. He looked outside and found himself in a dark hallway, and began to walk. He had no idea where he was, or if he was getting closer to Eddie or farther away, but walking was the best he could do, and so he walked.


	2. Chapter 2

He spent a long time in the asylum, he wasn't sure just how long. Months probably, but he survived well. He stole food from others, hid in the vents, and observed everything from his vents, out of their sight. Eddie had given up on him when again he'd discovered Waylon gone into thin air a second time. He had called that if Waylon wanted to come home, he knew where to go. Every since he had escaped, his ankle had swollen and there were bumps all over it. It was painful to the touch, so he didn't dare try to feel the extent of the injury. He considered going back to Eddie to see if there was anything he could do, but people passed underneath him often, and he was afraid he would end up in the wrong hands. Besides, he couldn't really walk anymore. Crawling was the only thing he could do.  
There were surprisingly still a lot of inmates left, but two of the prominent ones were Gluskin, and Trager. Eddie had developed a new system. He kept a lot of people chained up in two rooms. In one were all of his practice dummies. When he decided he wanted to practice, he took one of them and practiced his surgery. In the other room were all guys he wanted for his bride. Skinny little guys. They waited around in their room, and starved, until they gave up and begged to be put on the table. Eddie always gave them their operation, promising them a meal after they were finished, but after so long, they were usually too weak to survive.   
Trager was entirely different. He didn't just want a bride, he just liked to operate. His unfortunate victims were strapped down to operating tables, or tied up in wheelchairs, and depending on what he felt like for the day, Trager would operate horribly. He'd remove all their fingers or toes, cut their tongue out, or even do one of Eddie's operations, but every cut he'd make would be slow, drawn out, and painful. The vent was blocked near Trager's hall, and so Waylon only saw the operations. Eddie and Trager were friends, too. They met every once in a while, and would trade people they hadn't yet operated on, or that had only had minor operations. If a bride survived and annoyed Eddie, he'd sell them to Trager to have fun with.  
Both Trager, and Gluskin now had their own goons, too. Gluskin had enlisted the help of a pair of twins, as well as two other strong guys, who would scour the halls, looking for victims in exchange for their safety from the table. Trager had five, scouring the halls.  
Waylon had to be extremely careful when looking for supplies these days. The goons were always lurking. They knew he lived in the vents, but they hadn't caught him yet. Over time, Waylon had broken most of the chains and blockages over the grates, but they were constantly chaining them shut again. Finally, Waylon overheard Eddie tell them that whichever one of them caught him would be given a huge reward. He didn't say what, but each of his goons positioned themselves in various places to watch the vents. Waylon was able to pass by, unheard, until the dust that had accumulated over time caused him to sneeze, rather loudly.  
“There!” a voice yelled, and before he could react, there were blades cutting through the metal on either side of him. They stabbed until they were able to fit their hands in, and peeled the thin metal open. A terrifying looking head emerged from each side, both looking triumphant.  
“We've got you, come on,” one said. Waylon wouldn't move. After much struggling, and trying to grab him, one of the guys poked his head through the hole, and said quietly, “Look, we've got you surrounded. You're not going anywhere, and you're coming with us one way or another.” Waylon hated to admit how true that was. “So why don't you come on out now, before we have to send someone in after you. Either that, or we're going to have to board up the vent and take the whole thing down, and deliver you to Gluskin in your own little box.” Waylon shuddered, remembering the first time when he'd come to Eddie in a box. Reluctantly he crawled forward, and a pair of hands grabbed his wrists and pulled him through.  
“You made a good choice,” one of them murmured. There were suddenly four pairs of hands grabbing onto him, touching and looking him all over for anything wrong. Waylon let out a gasp when one of them brushed his ankle.  
“Oooh, yeah. This is really bad.”  
“Ouch, wonder how it happened...”  
“Let's get him to Gluskin.” He was thrown over someone's shoulder. He started to thrash, but the one carrying him put his hand on the ankle, and Waylon went limp.  
“Let's make it fast.”  
“But the traps are all on the way!”  
“Let's just get him to Gluskin fast, and then we can come back and check them.”  
“Fine.”  
They picked up the pace, and Waylon grew tense. Then he heard a sickly sweet voice that sent chills down his spine.  
“Oh, hello. Have you brought me another?” Eddie looked at Waylon's face, and burst into a huge grin. “My Darling! You've come back to me!”  
“Her ankle's pretty bad, and I think she needs-” one started, but Eddie hushed him.  
“Let's get her on the table, I'll decide what she needs there,” Waylon jerked, but the hand almost on his ankle was warning him. The room was so much cleaner, he was surprised. Waylon hadn't seen the operating room since he was last here, but it was different. The table lay alone in the center of the room, with the boards on either side. It was clean, the buzzsaw nowhere in sight. Almost inviting. He was laid down, and Eddie grinned down at him. “Welcome home, Darling.”  
Two people were tying his hands, then his uninjured ankle was tied. “Oh... Oh dear...” Eddie said when he saw the ankle. “That is terrible.” Two pairs of hands held the leg still, while Eddie gently touched it. Waylon cried out, and thrashed, but he couldn't move much. “I'm afraid I don't have the capability to treat such an infection. I'll have to take her to Trager...” Eddie shook his head, sadly, and Waylon was forced into a wheelchair, with his hands and feet restrained.  
He closed his eyes. It made him feel a little better, he could pretend he was somewhere else. When he opened them again a long time later, he was disoriented, and had no idea where they were, or where they were going, until Eddie called, “Trager!”  
“Gluskin!” Trager appeared from a room nearby. Waylon shied away from him, he was a tall man, clad in a surgical gown and mask. “Who's this?”  
“This is my Darling, I'm afraid she's gotten a terrible infection.”  
“Not again, Gluskin, I told you to sterilize your tools before you operate. “Get her on the table, I'll be there in a moment.” Eddie picked him up easily, and tied Waylon's hands. He tried to fight, but his attacks were weak, and Eddie evaded them easily.  
“Alright, let me see, now,” Trager sat on a rolling stool near the bed, carrying a tray of terrible looking tools. Blades, some kind of sharp curly tool, drills, there was a mix between surgical, toolbox, and various other tools. Trager took a pair of scissors and was about to cut Waylon's shorts when Eddie stopped him,  
“No, she hasn't had her operation yet. It's her ankle.”   
“Oh my...” Trager looked, and prodded, making Waylon scream. “This is very bad. This is going to need a lot of work.”  
“What kind of work?” Eddie questioned.  
“Well, definitely a surgery, and we'll have to take care of all these boils... And then probably medication... She's going to need a lot of work. Tell you what, I'll take her off your hands.”  
“Not a chance, I've been waiting for her for months.”  
“Is she obedient?”  
“She will be.”  
“Well-mannered?”  
“She's learning.”  
“Is she beautiful, yes. I want her.”  
“You can't have her, she's mine. Look, I can give you ten that are just as good in her place,”  
“No, I think I'd rather have this one. You haven't even marked her as yours yet. Or operated on her.”  
“You know I never mark them until after the operation! Why do you even want her anyway?”  
“I believe I need a bride too, at some point. A man has needs, you know. She will do nicely. Such soft skin, and great bone structure, don't you think? Perfect for birthing children.”  
“She's the most beautiful girl I've ever found.”  
“Exactly why I want her. Tell you what, it comes down to this. Either she's mine and I'll take care of her, or you can take her home and she can die of infection.”  
Eddie paused.  
“You know,” Trager continued. “With an infection this bad, it'll slowly spread up her leg. If it gets any worse, there will be no other choice but amputation.”  
“Fine, fine!” Eddie said quickly. “She's yours.”  
“And for your argument, I want another one, equally as pretty, thrown in.”  
“Okay, fine!” Eddie threw his hands up.  
“Great, now you go get my other lady, and I'll get started here.”  
Eddie hesitated.  
“Is there a problem?” Trager asked.  
“I don't want to leave her....”  
“She's mine now, go.”  
Eddie left. Waylon was alone, with a strange man, waiting for some kind of treatment that terrified him.  
“Don't worry,” Trager told him. “Gluskin and I barter and trade. I've got plenty just like you in the other room, I'll sell you back to him for things I need later... Well... I don't know. Maybe I'll keep you. Depends on how well I like you later.”  
Trager picked a scalpel off the table. “I wish you had come sooner, it wouldn't be so painful.”  
“Pl-Please. I'll do anything you want.” Waylon pleaded.  
“I'm sorry, my dear, this is going to require a lot of time, and it will be a lot of pain.”  
Trager started slitting the boils. He added pressure and yellow gunk drained out of them. Waylon never stopped screaming, tears rolling down his cheeks.  
“Nearly done,” Trager assured him. “Just a few more.” Waylon didn't know how much more he could take. “We're all done,” Trager finally said after a few minutes. “I've cleaned everything up, and with the medication, you should heal nicely.” Waylon looked down. His ankle looked far redder than it had been before, but the swelling was already going down.  
He was dressed in a red shirt and blue shorts, and Trager scooped him up, and explained, “We have a system here. Red shirt means you came from Gluskin, and now you're mine. Blue shirt means you're mine, and have always been. Green shirt means you're going to be traded. Black shorts mean you've had a surgery before, but you'll be having more. Blue shorts mean you've never been operated on, and purple and pink are mothers.”  
“Mothers?” Waylon questioned.  
“Ah yes, I have four right now. They're always on the table, I never untie them. I've been trying all kinds of surgeries to make them pregnant, but I haven't been able to do it yet. They always die before I figure it out.” Trager looked him over, “You know, come to think of it, you have the best bone structure I've seen, perhaps I should make you a mother instead.” He paused a few moments, and then made his choice. “Yes, you shall be a mother. Of course, you'll need plenty of surgeries to prepare you. I'll give your ankle a day or two to heal, and then we can get started. Ah, here we are.” Trager opened a closet door. The closet was tiny, nothing in it but a dirty mattress. “Welcome to recovery,” Trager forced some pills down his throat. “That should do the trick. Those work pretty fast. You should be ready for surgery tomorrow, and you should be completely healed in a few days.” With that, Trager shut the door, leaving Waylon in darkness, with so many thoughts all at once making his head spin..

He slept poorly, terror of what was waiting for him making him toss and turn. The door opened with a creak. Surely it couldn't be morning already.  
“Good morning, my dear. Trager grinned. “Oh! Look at that ankle!” He was right, the swelling was gone, and it looked almost brand new. “Come along, it's time to prepare for motherhood.” He reluctantly stood. “Waylon, We're only going to draw some blood. I promise you.”  
“That's all?” Waylon asked.  
“That's all.”  
He slowly followed Trager.  
Two pairs of hands grabbed him, anyway, and lifted him to the table. Waylon thrashed, and kicked anyway.  
“YOU SAID JUST BLOOD,” he screamed, as he fought.  
“Yes, yes, I know,” Trager said quietly as the goons tied his legs, “It is just blood right now. Just some blood. But we need a lot of blood, for your surgery later.” His arms were tied at his sides, palm up. Trager tied a band around Waylon's arm. “Yes, this will do.” He tapped the veins with his finger, and then he inserted a needle into one. “Hold still now, we have a lot of blood to take.” Trager began filling bags, humming as he went. After almost two bags had been filled, Waylon's face broke into a sweat, and he started feeling extremely lightheaded and weak. “One more, and then we'll take a break,” he said quietly. By the time the third bag was filled, he was sick to his stomach, and the edges of his vision had gone dark.  
“Time for a break, you did a good job,” Trager nodded. Waylon's was untied, but he stayed laying down, and he was given a cookie and some juice. “We're going to be taking a lot of blood today,” Trager told him. “You won't bleed as much during your surgery later.” Tomorrow, we'll take more blood, and then we'll do another surgery. We'll take another bag in a few hours.” He was carried back to his room, the closet.  
He stayed laying down for a long time slowly regaining his strength. When the door opened again hours later, he still felt weak. He only kicked a few times when Trager picked him up, but they were weak. He inserted the needle into Waylon's other arm, and another bag was filled. “One more,” Trager urged, and a second filled with blood. “That's it, we're done. Good job.” Waylon was too weak to fight as Trager started fiddling with the rope. Waylon even held his hands out, while Trager tied them above his head. “There's the cooperation we were looking for!” Trager grinned down at him. “Let's get started. He lifted Waylon's shirt, exposing his stomach, and shaved any hairs that still existed there. Then he picked up a scalpel, “It's always great to do this with a new body.”  
“Hold on,” a voice called, and Trager looked up. Eddie was standing in the door. “She's mine, I want her back.”  
“I thought we already settled this,” Trager sighed.  
“Whoa,” Eddie stared at the five bags of blood. “Did you take all that from her today?”  
“Yes, really quite amazing. It took all of that to weaken her this much. She's so cooperative now, she didn't even put up a fight.”  
“What do you want for her?”  
“If you take her, you know our agreement. I'll get control of all your girls, and I'll send my goons after you. Then when they catch you, you'll be the one on the table. Oh, and I already know what to do with you! I'll turn you into my bride, how does that sound? Of course, my bride will first have to become a mother... You know that means lots of surgeries... and then we'll have children, But I'll leave you chained to the wall, so that you can keep popping out babies until you die. You're a strong guy, I'm sure you can handle it.”  
“She's mine,” Eddie glared. “I wont let you turn her into one of your mothers.” In a flash, before Waylon even realized what was going on, Eddie had forced Trager out of the room, and Trager was pounding on the door.  
“I'll give you all of my others for her,” Eddie called.  
“Tempting, but no. You have three seconds, before I get my goons. One...”  
Eddie cut the ropes holding Waylon to the table.  
“Two...”  
He quickly scooped him up in his arms.  
“Three.”  
Eddie stood on the table and opened the vent with one hand, gently setting Waylon inside. He grabbed the juice boxes and cookies, before cramming his shoulders in, quite painfully. He replaced the grate.  
“Oh yes, finally. Gluskin, you are mine,” Trager called from outside. “I'm going to get my goons right now. Your girls are mine, too. Enjoy the minutes you have.”  
Eddie couldn't move Waylon through the vent when Waylon couldn't move himself, so they settled in, Eddie making Waylon drink juice and eat cookies, while the goons were searching the room for them.  
“Find them!” Trager snapped. “Gluskin, and the girl.”  
The three men split up, each going through doors that led to hallways, and Trager went with them.  
Waylon and Eddie spent a long time in those vents. They whisper-talked most of the time.  
“I knew I made the right choice with you,” Eddie whispered. “I could feel it the first time I'd ever met you. We're meant to be, I know it.”  
After Waylon had regained some strength, they started moving. At first when Waylon had been rescued by Eddie, he'd been terrified of him. Now, even in that short amount of time, there was a feeling of trust for him. In that moment, Waylon trusted him, completely. In the beginning it would have seemed a terrible thing, to put his life in the hands of some insane man. But now, it just simply felt right. He wouldn't call it love, but Waylon was certainly fond of him.  
Eddie nodded to the left, and they went that way. Eddie's shoulders were too big for the shaft, he had to crawl in an awkward position to get places, so Waylon went first. He found a grate a little ways off from their starting spot, but just as he was about to select it as their escape, a goon sat down right outside it.  
“I have these,” the guy said, settling down outside, with several rooms and vents in sight.  
If they didn't want to starve to death, they'd have to come down at some point, and when they did, someone would be waiting for them.  
“How did they know? I thought we had more time,” Eddie sighed. “But, then again, this is where you usually hide.”  
“Waylon,” Trager's voice echoed through the vent. “If you come down now with Gluskin, you're free to go. If you stay up there, though, I'm going to give you pink shorts to go with your shirt, and we are going to have a very painful time together.”  
Waylon and Eddie continued to crawl.  
“Someone is stationed at every grate. You might as well come down now,” Trager called.  
Waylon looked behind them and stepped on a loose grate, it hit the ground with a clang. He'd have fallen if Eddie hadn't grabbed him.  
“They're here!” The guy below screamed, one of the goons. He was jumping, clawing, he grabbed Waylon's hand and pulled. Eddie pulled back. Waylon struggled, and dug his nails into the guy's hand until he felt warm blood, but this guy was not letting go. Waylon kept clawing his hand until he finally loosened his grip, crying out, and clutching his bleeding hand. Waylon and Eddie took an alternate route. They reached a very far area of the asylum. There were small rooms here, and closets, all dark, as though no one had ever been here before. The calls and sounds were behind them.  
“Do you think it's safe?” Waylon whispered.  
“I don't know,” Eddie replied.  
“I'm going down, stay here until I say it's safe.” Waylon reached for a grate that led to a very small room. When the grate had been removed, he dropped down. He cautiously opened the door. The hallway was dark. “I think it's safe,” Waylon called. Eddie dropped down beside him.  
“Are you sure?” Eddie asked, looking down the hallway ainxously.  
They stepped out of the closet and quietly made their way down the hallway. Suddenly there were footsteps.  
“Quick!” Eddie pulled him into a room, another closet. Very small. This one had no vent. Eddie listened at the door, until the footsteps passed. He gave a relieved sigh, “We're safe.”  
“Eddie,” Waylon said gently, “We need to get out.”  
“Of course,” Eddie nodded. “We can go back to my room, and lock the door, and we can stay there forever.”  
“No,” Waylon put a hand on his arm. “I think we need to leave the asylum.”  
Eddie stared at him uncomprehendingly, “Leave? Why would we leave? This is our home.”  
“I know,” Waylon nodded. “But if we go, then Trager won't be able to chase us.”  
“And then we can come back?”  
“Well, Eddie, the thing is... We probably won't be coming back... But there are so many things out there, we can go and-”  
“No,” Eddie said firmly. “No.”  
“But Eddie-”  
“NO!” Eddie snapped. “This is home. This is where we will raise our children.”  
“Okay, okay, calm down,” Waylon spoke calmly, trying to get Eddie to agree. “How about if we go away for a little while, and then we can come back?”  
“How long is a little while?”  
“A few years, maybe-”  
Eddie stopped him, shaking his head. “We can go for a few days. Then we come back. Besides, you still need your surgery.”  
Waylon had to settle with that. They slipped a few rooms down, until they found one that had a window. Waylon closed the door softly, it was locked from the outside. They were screwed if they didn't succeed. Eddie approached the window, it was blocked with rusty iron bars. A few good jerks, and they were gone. Waylon was glad Eddie was with him, otherwise he would have never been able to leave.  
Eddie jumped down first. It was a long way down, but he landed gracefully. “Jump, I'll catch you.” Waylon stepped on the window ledge, and down he flew. Eddie did catch him, but the sudden impact of Waylon's body sent them both sprawling.  
They both laughed at the amazing, exhilirating escape they'd just performed. Then Eddie kissed him. In any other circumstances, Waylon would have cringed, but this time he kissed back. Passionately, with fire that stirred something inside him. Was it love? He wasn't sure. Something about that kiss, though was like making a deal. A promise. Something about that kiss left everything hanging in the air.  
Then they got to their feet, dusted themselves off, and, hand in hand, walked toward the car for the journey yet to come.


	3. Chapter 3

The car still had its keys in it, and Waylon drove them to the nearest town. They both looked terrible, covered in dirt and grime and blood. It was a little chilly out, and when they reached town, Waylon couldn't believe their luck. There were children dressed as ghosts, and vampires, and pumpkins. It was Halloween.  
“Awesome costumes!” People shouted at them as Waylon parked the car. It was almost out of gas.  
Eddie, having spent his entire life in an asylum, ever since he had been young, had his face pressed against the window. Something about the experiments had messed with his head, he didn't remember any of it. He was as curious as a small child, staring at all the bright colors and lights.  
They slipped out of the car, and Waylon took Eddie's hand, leading the way to the nearest hotel. Eddie stared at everything they passed, and had Waylon not been pulling him along, they probably would have spent the entire night just on one street.  
A few doors down from the hotel, there was a lady smoking, and Waylon whispered a plan to Eddie. Eddie stepped up in front of her, and started talking to her about Halloween, and directions to the nearest grocery store. Waylon snuck behind her, and slipped her wallet out of her purse. He took a credit card, and when the wallet had been safely returned, he walked away. Eddie thanked the lady for her help, and then he returned to Waylon, saying a little too loudly.  
“She says it's over by the theatre down on McKinley street,” Eddie pointed.  
“Oh good, come on, let's go inside and we'll go tomorrow.”  
They walked inside, and Eddie, who hadn't seen a couch in so long, of course wanted to sit on every piece of furniture in the lobby. It took a lot to get him to stay still. Waylon bought a room with the stolen credit card, and stepped outside again. He walked casually past the lady, who payed him no notice, and reached down behind her.  
“I think you dropped this,” he handed her the card.  
“Oh! Thank you!” The lady took it, giving him a smile. Waylon returned it, and went back inside. Mission accomplished. Hopefully, she wouldn't realize an extra hotel room had been charged to her card until they were gone.  
When he returned to the lobby, Eddie was slowly moving about the room, looking at every piece of art on the walls, and sitting in every chair in the room. He was getting a lot of strange looks, and Waylon sighed, and grabbed his arm.  
“Oooh, Waylon! These chairs are so soft!” Eddie was grinning goofily.  
“Come on, we're going to go upstairs,” Waylon pulled him to his feet. “You'll love it.”  
Eddie followed him happily, though he was a little reluctant to leave the lobby. “Wow, look at all the doors,” Eddie stared, open-mouthed. “There are so many!”  
“Mmhmm,” Waylon unlocked the door. Room 204. Inside was a big king sized bed, with two chairs and a table in front of the window, as well as a television.  
Eddie stared at the television. “Can I touch it?”  
Waylon took his arm and pulled him into the bathroom. “Let's get cleaned up first.” Eddie really was like a child. Waylon realized with a little sadness that everything that had happened to him had left him with absolutely no knowledge of how to take care of himself. Now that he was no longer in the asylum, Eddie was a sweet, curious, and well-mannered person. Waylon really couldn't believe he'd been afraid of him at all.  
Waylon started running water into the tub. When it was full, he nudged Eddie. “Take your clothes off and hop in. Clean yourself up, and don't forget your face and hair. I'll be right back, you just sit here for a few minutes. Don't get up until I come back” He wasn't quite sure whether he could trust Eddie by himself, but it was just for a minute of course. He slipped down to the hotel gift shop, and picked out some clothes. He guessed about Eddie's sizes. Sweatpants, a T-shirt, shorts, and a sweatshirt for each of them. He charged them to the room, and slipped back upstairs. When he returned, he found Eddie was flooding the bathroom. The tub was full, and the shower was running on his head.  
“Look! It's raining!” Eddie grinned. Waylon flipped the shower off, and started mopping up the water, hoping that it wouldn't start leaking on the floor below.  
“Come here,” Waylon sat on his knees, and started scrubbing Eddie's dirty hair. He'd cleaned himself up pretty well, but his face and hair were still a disaster. The dried blood was hard to scrub out. Waylon found a cup under the sink, and filled it with water, dumping it over Eddie's head. Waylon started on Eddie's face, which Eddie fussed at him over. Waylon got him out of the tub, and wrapped in a fluffy towel. When he'd finished, Eddie showed no sign of the asylum, apart from a few scrapes and bruises. “Come on,” Waylon gestured, and had Eddie put on his tshirt and shorts to sleep in. “Doesn't that feel better?”  
Eddie nodded, and started toward the chairs to test them out, but Waylon flipped on the television to one of the kid's channels. Spongebob was on, and Eddie was fascinated, he sat on the floor and watched.  
With Eddie occupied, Waylon was finally able to clean himself up, far faster than it had taken Eddie. Of course, he too had many scrapes and bruises, and the water hurt when it ran over his skin, but it was a good kind of pain. After a quick shower, he washed his face. Then he came out and slipped to his own shirt and shorts from the hotel gift shop. He cleaned up the bathroom, and disposed of their old and dirty articles of clothing in the trash can.  
When he'd finished, Eddie was still staring at the television. “Eddie, come here,” Waylon called, and Eddie paid him no attention. “Eddie.” Eddie turned his head slightly. “Come here.” When he again got no response, Waylon picked up the remote, and flicked the television off. Eddie freaked out.  
“What happened? What did I do? Where did they go?” Eddie stared.  
Waylon pulled back the covers and patted the spot next to him. Eddie shook his head. “I'm not tired yet!”  
“Come sit,” Eddie did, still upset. He sat next to him, and Waylon laid the cover over his lap and started explaining the remote. Eddie couldn't believe it. He picked it up and looked at it, and pushed the power button several times, turning the television on and off. When he'd tried it several times, Waylon took the remote back from him. “It's time to go to sleep.”  
“But I can't sleep yet!”  
“We're going to sleep. Tomorrow, we're going to go shopping, and maybe if you're good, I'll take you to do something fun.”  
Eddie started talking a mile a minute, asking about what shopping was and if it hurt, and many other questions, all before Waylon could answer the first one. Waylon kissed him, just once very softly, and that shut him up. “It's time for sleep first. Save your questions for tomorrow.”  
Waylon rolled over on his side, and flipped off the light. Soft pillow, warm blankets. It couldn't be more perfect. Then an arm slid around his waist, and Waylon's back was pressed against Eddie's chest. He was a little uncomfortable at first, but after a few minutes, Eddie's breathing steadied, and Waylon relaxed. They slept like that all night.


	4. Chapter 4

When Waylon opened his eyes in the morning, it was nearly ten. Eddie's arm was still around him, and Waylon started to move, but Eddie's arm tightened, holding him in place. Waylon was just able to wriggle enough to roll over, but now he was tightly against Eddie's chest. Waylon shook Eddie's shoulder, and his eyes popped open.  
“Come on, sleepyhead. Checkout is at eleven.”  
“Checkout?” Eddie yawned.  
“Yes, so we should get up,” Waylon started to sit up, but both of Eddie's arms closed around his back.  
“How about we stay here?” Eddie grinned, and kissed him. Waylon kissed back briefly, and started pulling away.  
“We have to get up,” Waylon started, and Eddie paused.  
“I wish you'd gotten your operation on the first day. Then we could stay here all day together.” Eddie sighed. It was the first time he'd said anything related to the asylum since they'd left.  
“Oh. So do I,” Waylon told him. He wasn't certain whether he truly believed it or not.  
“Let's do it today then,” Eddie grinned widely.  
“We can't,” Waylon shook his head.  
Eddie frowned. “As soon as we get back to the asylum, then.”  
“Mmhmm,” Waylon had slipped out of his arms, and was getting dressed. “Hop up, put these on.”  
Eddie put on the sweatpants and sweatshirt and gasped. “These are so soft!”  
They sat in the hotel restaurant, and Waylon ordered them each a hamburger for early lunch. Eddie looked at it uncomprehendingly when it came.  
“A hamburger...” he poked it. “How do I...?”  
Waylon took a bite of his own. “Take a big bite.”  
Eddie mimicked him and his face spread into a grin. He devoured his burger and fries (and then some of Waylon's fries somehow found their way into Eddie's mouth).  
Another room charge, and Waylon checked out of the hotel. They walked to where the car was parked, and used the fumes of gas left in it to get as close as they could across town. A Walmart was right there, and so they chose it for shopping. Waylon and Eddie used their credit card trick with a lady who was bending down, looking at birthday cards. It was sticking right out of her pocket, and she didn't feel a thing when Waylon swiped it. He took a backpack, a package of underwear for each of them, toothbrushes, a comb, and picked out a pair of jeans, two pairs of shorts, a long sleeved shirt, and two t shirts for himself. Three outfits. A pair of shoes and socks for each of them was difficult, but it was a lot harder to get Eddie's outfits. He didn't like the underwear, wanted to try everything on, and just when he'd try it on, he'd see something entirely new. Waylon had to sit with him in the changing room to keep him on task.  
“That all looks good. Get your clothes back on while I go pay, okay?” Waylon stepped out of the changing room, and Eddie followed him, just in his underwear.  
“Can't we stay here? I like it,” Eddie grinned.  
Unnoticed out of the corner of his eye three girls staring at Eddie and giggling. He would never have thought anything of it any other time. I mean, Eddie was a good-looking guy, and he was standing here half naked in the middle of the store, of course they'd giggle. Something about it rubbed him the wrong way, though. Eddie pulled on his pants, and Waylon slipped Eddie's shirt over his head for him, giving him a little kiss. Eddie grinned widely, it was the first time they'd ever kissed in public. Waylon scooped up the clothes from the floor, and marched toward the cash registers to pay. Eddie was staring at the three girls.  
“Look at that, he's jealous!”  
“He wants us to know he's taken!”  
“Back off, this is my boyfriend!”  
Waylon could hear them giggling behind him. “Eddie!” He snapped, and Eddie followed. He could feel Eddie's eyes on the back of his neck. Waylon set the items on the counter, and swiped the credit card. He dropped it on the floor next to the cash register.  
A few minutes later a voice came on the loud speaker. “Would Molly Marin please come to the front desk.” The card had been successfully returned.  
“Was all that true?” Eddie asked, when Waylon had filled the backpack with the new clothes.  
“Hm?”  
“Were you really... Jealous? Of those girls giggling?”  
“No, of course not.” Waylon snapped. He could feel his face getting hot.  
Eddie's face broke into a huge grin. “You were! You were jealous!”  
“Jealous? Of you? Why would I be jealous? They can have you,” Waylon shrugged, walking down the block, Eddie trailing him.  
“I can prove you're jealous,” Eddie said behind him.  
“Oh yeah? How?” Waylon was keeping an eye out for another hotel to rent for the day. And then suddenly he turned around and Eddie grabbed a girl who was passing by, and kissed her. Passionately. Something broke inside him and Waylon jerked the two apart.  
“What the heck do you think you're doing?” he snapped. “You can't do that to random strangers!” Waylon said as an excuse.  
“I knew it!” Eddie gleefully turned to the girl. “Sorry, ma'am. He wouldn't admit he was jealous. I wanted to prove it.”  
The girl was terribly flustered, and walked off with a friend.  
“Look at you, you're a jealous mess!” Eddie walked with a spring in his step, practically skipping. Waylon was annoyed, and Eddie knew it. It only made him happier.  
They walked a while, and Eddie stopped him when they rounded a corner. “Whoa whoa whoa. We should go home tonight.”  
“Tonight?” Waylon was taken aback.  
“Yes, tonight. Trager has probably given up the search for us by now. It's time to go home.” Eddie grinned.  
“Oh, we can't go home yet, you haven't gotten to see-” Waylon started, but Eddie stopped him.  
“We will flip a coin. Heads we go home tonight. Tails we stay.”  
“We don't even have a coin!” Waylon snapped.  
Eddie stepped right up to a guy passing by, “Excuse me, sir. Do you happen to have a coin I could borrow?” The guy shoved a dollar into Eddie's hand and kept walking. “Huh. What a strange person.”  
“Fine, give me the money, I'll go get some coins,” Waylon took it. A few minutes later with change, he handed the quarters to Eddie. “What do you say we make this interesting?”  
“How so?”  
“If I win the coin toss, I decide when we go back. You win, you decide, even right now, hm?” Waylon had interested him,  
“You're on, but I'm the luckiest guy ever, so I'll win,” Eddie seemed confident.  
"Oh yeah? what makes you so lucky?" Waylon laughed.  
“Well, I've got you, don't I? Ready? Here we go,” Eddie tossed all four of the coins in the air. They clattered onto the sidewalk in front of them. “No! How?” Eddie frowned. Three of them were tails.


	5. Chapter 5

After a few days of pickpocketing credit cards and cash every here and there, Waylon and Eddie were able to rent a tiny apartment. Waylon got a job at a clothing store across the street, as well as the fast food restaurant next door. It was just enough to scrape by. They had just barely enough to pay rent, and had to eat as cheaply as possible, but they could scrape by. Waylon kept a jar of savings in the kitchen, it wasn't much, but it was everything they had, and if they had an emergency, it would get them through. Eddie had his own job. Waylon remembered he loved to sew, and so Eddie started sewing dresses. He really was very skilled at it, and he sold his creations at street corners, and outside the apartment. Surprisingly, he did very well. He made a small profit, and was able to contribute to the savings.  
They continued like this for several months. Waylon spent all morning in the clothing store from the time it opened, until early afternoon, and then he went to the restaurant next door, and worked the dinner rush, until six. By the time he came home at night, he was exhausted. Things were going swimmingly, until, of course, they hit a snag.  
Waylon had just gotten home and collapsed into a chair. Eddie was sitting on the floor, sewing a dress with a pretty pink flower pattern. Waylon started going through the mail for the day.  
“Oh no...” he sighed.  
“What?” Eddie stared up at him, “Is everything okay?”  
“They're raising renting costs on us,” Waylon ran his hands through his hair. They were barely scraping by as it was, and they were already late on rent. “I guess we'll have to dip into the savings jar until I can figure something else out.” He was already working two jobs, he didn't know how he'd manage if he had to juggle three.  
“Oh... Right.... The savings...”  
Waylon's heart sank when he heard that tone in Eddie's voice. Eddie wouldn't look at him. He'd done something wrong.  
“What... Did... You... Do...?” his stomach flopped, as he rushed to the kitchen. The savings jar was completely empty. It had held several hundred dollars, from many long nights, but now two quarters and a dime were all that was left.  
“Don't worry, though! I have it covered!” Eddie reassured him.  
Waylon was struggling to stay calm. “How exactly do you have it covered?”  
Eddie pulled wads of papers from his pockets. “See? Look! We're going to be fine.”  
Waylon picked one up and realized in horror that all of them were lottery tickets. “Eddie... What have you done?” Anger grew from the pit of his stomach. “Do you realize how many people enter the lottery, Eddie? Do you realize how small the chance of winning actually is?” He was growing angrier.  
“Yeah, but I spent everything on them! We'll win for sure!”  
“THAT WAS EVERYTHING WE HAD!” Waylon gripped Eddie's shirt and shook him. “GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD, I WORK ALL DAY, THAT MONEY WAS BECAUSE OF ME, AND FOR WHAT, SO YOU COULD THROW IT ALL AWAY? I WORK MY BUTT OFF WHILE YOU SIT HERE SEWING DRESSES. WHO DO YOU THINK BUYS YOU FOOD, HUH? DO YOU THINK IT JUST MAGICALLY APPEARS? NO! I HAVE TO PROVIDE FOR YOU, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T DO IT YOURSELF! DO YOU THINK I WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU? NO! I WOULD MUCH RATHER THROW YOU OUT ON THE STREET, BUT-” he stopped. Eddie was visibly upset, almost crying. With a good shove, Eddie broke Waylon's grip on his shirt, and sent him flying into the wall, hitting his head on the edge of the counter, after which he knew no more.  
When he came to, his head hurt. Badly. Sitting up, carefully he discovered himself lying in a pool of blood. He reached a hand up, his hair was crusty with dried blood, and there was still blood seeping from a cut he couldn't find. When he got to his feet, he was shaking.  
“E-Eddie?” he called. There wasn't an answer. A quick look around the apartment revealed him to be nowhere in sight. Leaning heavily on the wall, he checked the bathroom. Eddie was asleep in the bathtub. His head felt foggy, he couldn't really think straight. He was dizzy, kneeling down beside the bathtub, he shook Eddie's shoulder before promptly vomiting in the toilet next to him.  
“Waylon? What's wrong?” Eddie woke up.  
“I... I don't really know,” Waylon admitted. “I think I need to go to the hospital.” Waylon couldn't recall exactly how they'd made it there, he really didn't remember. Just, one minute he was in the bathroom, and then next, a doctor was sewing his head closed, while Eddie held his hand.  
And then somehow, he opened his eyes, and he was lying in bed, in their apartment, and a quick scan of the clock told him he was extremely late for work, by several hours in fact. He started rushing to get up, despite a terrible headache, but a pair of hands stopped him.  
“No, you have to stay in bed. It's okay, I already took care of work, they're getting someone to replace you for now.”  
“What happened?” Waylon couldn't remember much.  
“The doctors said you have a concussion. You have to take it easy for a while. No work for you,” Eddie seemed perfectly content with that.  
“Oh,” Waylon tried to remember the before. “How did I get a concussion in the first place?”  
“Well...” Eddie ran his fingers through his hair, “You kinda started yelling at me, and you were shaking me and scaring me, and so I kinda pushed you, and you hit your head. I locked myself in the bathroom for a while, but then I went to sleep... I never thought you were actually hurt, I just thought you were quiet because you were cooling off, I'm so sorry.”  
“Ah, right...” Waylon could remember some of the yelling from the night before.  
“Yeah, you were tired, and strung out, no wonder you snapped. You need a break,” Eddie shrugged. “Oh, by the way, we're going to be moving out in a few days.”  
Waylon's stomach sank. “What are we going to do? We can't even afford this place? This is the smallest apartment I think we can find around here. Where are we going to live?”  
Eddie shrugged, “We'll figure it out.”  
They spent the next two days packing up. Or rather, Eddie packed up, and Waylon watched. It drove him nuts, but Eddie was insistent that Waylon not participate in any activity that could potentially hurt him further, despite the fact that he was already feeling perfectly fine. By the end of the third day, the apartment was bare.  
“If it helps,” Eddie said, carrying the last box out.“I spent some of that money on gas for this car.” The car was packed with all of their stuff, and Eddie had set Waylon up with a pillow in the backseat. “You just relax, I'll find us a good place to stay for a little while.”  
“You mean a good place to park,” Waylon muttered, laying down with his eyes closed. Eddie drove a long time. Waylon dozed a little. When he woke, there were hands shaking him awake.  
“Wake up,” Eddie insisted.  
“What?” Waylon asked, a little annoyed at being woken.  
“I have a surprise for you!” Eddie grinned, covering Waylon's eyes. So Waylon was made to get up, and he stumbled along, while Eddie guided him. “Right here... No, here... Perfect. Ready?”  
“I suppose so,” Waylon had to admit he was curious.  
“Surprise! Welcome home!” Eddie pulled his hands away, and Waylon stared with his mouth open at the house before him. Two large stone pillars, with an iron gate invitingly open before him, and beyond that a curving driveway with a large grassy yard. The house stood big and tall, massive, really, beautifully decorated. He was flabbergasted. The biggest, most beautiful house he'd ever seen was standing before him.  
“How... How did you...?” Waylon stared at him in shock.  
Eddie pulled a ticket out of his pocket. “We won.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Well, you know,” Eddie said smugly, as Waylon stared at him in disbelief. “I really am quite a nice guy, so I will be willing to share my winnings, despite the fact that you were so upset about it at first. But, of course, my sharing does have a fee... I'll share for the very low price of an “I told you so,” and how about a few “Wow, Eddie you were right, you're amazing!”s. I'm going to make you work for it,” he grinned, leaning back against one of the stone pillars.  
Waylon really didn't know how to say anything for a little while. They were millionaires. Their money problems were over. No more long nights, no more rent, no more struggles. It was unbelievable. Impossible. But true.

It took a while to adjust to their new lifestyle. Eddie seemed perfectly happy, right at home, but for Waylon it was a big change. They had a huge kitchen, big dining room, big living area with a massive television, two bathrooms, as well as three other huge rooms they had no idea what to do with, and that was just the first floor! The basement was large and unfinished. Upstairs was a movie room, a reading room, and a lot of extra space that they again had no idea what to do with. Up another set of stairs was a big room, half the size of the house, and the attic next door. This they made their bedroom. Waylon really didn't see the need for so much space, the bed only took up a very small part of the room, but Eddie was delighted. By the end of the first week, there was a couch, two chairs, a coffee table, big television, a reading corner, and art adorned the walls. Eddie decorated the house, and Waylon let him. It made Eddie happy when he decorated a new room, so that his eyes lit up and he got a big goofy grin on his face when it talked about it.  
Eddie's hobbies were decorating, and sewing, and creating dresses, and art. He'd discovered he loved to paint. Waylon had tried art before, but he couldn't make it work right. He fell back to his old skills of computer programming. He made a few little games that were simple and fun. People bought them for a dollar on the phone store, and a lot of people liked them.  
Waylon had thought at first that all those years in the asylum had messed Eddie's head up too much, but the calmer environment and the low stress had started bringing things back. He started to remember when he was a kid, though he still repressed many memories. Waylon remembered having read in his chart so long ago that Eddie had been abused as a little kid.  
Waylon had been scared. Eddie kept talking about going home, about going back to the asylum. This was, of course, until he read the article in the newspaper. It read “Mount Massive Asylum” across the top of the article in big letters, so how could he not read it? It seemed that unknown people had burned it down. All who were still inside had been killed.  
“Oh... Oh my gosh...” Eddie looked devastated when Waylon showed him. “Our home... It's gone... And Trager... My old friend... I can't believe he's dead... That they're all dead...” He struggled to accept it. Waylon was just relieved. They would never have to go back to the asylum. It didn't exist anymore.  
Eddie, after the news, started devoting all of his time to clothing. For months he designed all types of articles. Scarves, hats, shirts, shoes, everything he could think of. They devoted a room just for all Eddie's materials and supplies, and a second room just for all his creations.  
By the time the creation room was full, Eddie finally decided to do something. He had Waylon make a website for him. Waylon did it gladly. It took a day and a half, once Eddie had asked for all his changes and Waylon had made them.  
“It looks great!” Eddie was delighted with the final product. “But now we need to start modeling it, and putting the pictures and prices up.”  
“Oh, sure, why don't we hire some models to-” Waylon started, but Eddie stopped him.  
“They're already on the way. Of course, you'll have to model some too.”  
“Absolutely not,” Waylon was insistent. “I am not a doll for you to dress up.”  
“You have to!” Eddie exclaimed. “I'll pay you!”  
“Oh shut up,” Waylon rolled his eyes. “This money belongs to both of us.”  
“Well...” A sly smile spread over Eddie's face. “We aren't married, I remember when I asked and you said no, so... Unless you want to pay rent, I suppose you'd better agree...”  
Waylon couldn't believe it. “Are you actually doing this right now?”  
“Oh just a few outfits! Come on!”  
“Fine, fine!” Waylon held his hands up in surrender. “But only one or two.”  
Eddie grinned at him, just as the doorbell rang throughout the house. “Time for the photo shoot!” He practically skipped to the door.  
Waylon rolled his eyes, and followed him. When the door opened, there were two guys, who were really quite attractive. Both tall, and muscled, one with dark hair and green eyes, the other blonde hair and blue eyes. Waylon realized he was staring and looked away quickly. A silver Lamborghini was parked in the driveway, and he watched as a red Ferrari pulled up beside it, with two attractive women getting out of it, dark haired and blonde again. The resemblence between the girls and guys was uncanny. Same eyes.  
“Come in, come in!” Eddie grinned. “I suppose those are the girls behind you.”  
“I hope you realize, we're not going into the modeling business with you two,” the brown haired girl said, as they all stepped inside.  
“Calm down, Kim. Isn't it fun, though? The brother-sister brother-sister duos? Like old times.”  
Each of them stepped up to shake Eddie's (and Waylon's) hand. The blonde guy grinned and shook their hands, “I'm Jake.” Next the brown haired guy, “Aaron.” The blonde girl: “Brianna, but they call me B,” and finally Kim shook their hands. “and I'm Kim.”  
“Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all, I'm Eddie, and this is Waylon. Come along, I'll show you where we'll be working.”  
Waylon lagged at the back of the group, while Eddie took them upstairs, and then he snuck up to their room, curling up in a beanbag chair in the corner with a book to pass the time. It seemed he'd only been reading a few minutes, when Eddie tapped him on the shoulder.  
“We're about finished, just a few more outfits left, and then we're going out to dinner, so come on, let's go get you ready.”  
Waylon stretched. He hadn't realized at first, until Eddie had mentioned dinner, how hungry he was. He'd skipped lunch. Eddie reached down a hand, and Waylon took it, getting to his feet.  
“Of course, we can wait to do your model shoot until later, but first you really need a makeover,” Eddie told him, Waylon following him downstairs.  
“A makeover? What do you mean?”  
“Oh, well, of course you look fine, but you really need to look fabulous, so you're getting a makeover,” Eddie yammered on while Waylon's mind went elsewhere. He wasn't paying attention, but Eddie was asking him questions, and he just nodded, agreeing to things he was sure he'd regret later, but Eddie seemed happy with him, so he was willing to do whatever it was Eddie wanted him to do, so long as it wasn't painful or embarrassing. Eddie shoved a pair of khakis and a blue blazer into his hands. Waylon put them on, and followed him out.  
“You're going to look amazing, but before we go to dinner, we'll have to make some... Changes...” Eddie told him, as they climbed in the back of the Ferrari. Then Waylon couldn't hear anything but the rush of air flying past his ears, because the girls drove with the top down. He loved it. The feeling of the air rushing through his air felt like freedom. They drove fast too.  
Waylon let Eddie do what he wanted with him. He got a haircut, without even being able to look at the style Eddie had picked. Eddie and the girls were flipping through magazines, looking over hairstyles they wanted to give him. Finally, Waylon was allowed to look. His hair was a lot shorter, and stood up in spikes, which he didn't really like.  
“It looks great!” They all cooed, and rushed him to the next place on their list. In a matter of minutes, he was having his nails done by a manicurist.  
“Oh shut up, men get manicures too,” Kim told him when it was over. “Wouldn't it be cute to put color on them too?”  
More stops, more errands to dress him up, and finally they were “ready” to go to dinner. It was late now, and they'd been out for hours. Waylon's was hurting where they'd waxed his eyebrows, and then his chest, and he just wanted to go home.  
“Look, can we please just go home?” Waylon pleaded. “I'm done.”  
“What? But it's time for dinner!” B told him. “And the boys are meeting us.”  
So Waylon was dragged off again. At least he got a steak out of all of the hassle, though. That was one thing.  
“Come on, let's do your model shoot really quick,” Eddie insisted. “Then you're done. Just two articles of clothing, and that's it.”  
“Fine, what do I have to put on?” Waylon was tired, and Eddie gestured for him to sit. He pulled out two pairs of shoes.  
“Just... Like... That...” He murmured as he put one pair on Waylon's feet, and snapped a picture, and the repeated the process.  
“What else?” Waylon yawned.  
“Oh, that's it,” Eddie grinned. “You're done.”  
Waylon stared at him, “I'm done?”  
“Yep.”  
“Then what, would you mind telling me, was the point of all THIS if no one was even going to see me?” he guestured to all the crap Eddie had put him through today.  
“Well, you see, you really did need a makeover, and neither Jake or Aaron could fit into the shoes, so-”  
Waylon hurled one of the shoes at Eddie, it hit him harmlessly in the chest, “I can't believe you put me through all this crap for nothing!” He stormed into the bathroom, running the shower.  
“No! Don't do that! It'll mess up your hair!” Eddie whined from outside.  
Waylon was glad he was able to wash all the goop out of his hair. When he was clean, he looked in the mirror. His hair was back to normal, or rather a much shorter version of normal. He dressed in his normal pajamas, and went down to the living room to sleep on the couch.  
He woke up with a grunt the next morning, as Eddie laid on him. “If you really want to pretend to be a couch, I'll play your game. “  
“Get... Off...” Waylon gasped.  
“Couches don't talk!” Eddie exclaimed.  
“Off!” Waylon gasped a second time, and Eddie got up, letting Waylon breathe again.  
“Don't be mad at me,” Eddie whined, and Waylon rolled over.  
“I'm sleeping, go away,” Waylon snapped, and Eddie slunk off.  
For about a week, they hardly saw each other. Neither one spoke. Waylon usually left the house during the day. He went on walks, went to shopping malls and stores to look for things he didn't need, and other things he could do just to pass the day, when he would come home and sleep on the couch again.  
Finally after a week or so of couch-sleeping, Eddie sat on him again in the morning.  
“Oof!” Waylon squirmed. “Get off me!”  
“Nope, not until you start talking to me again,” Eddie laid on him, so that his back was on top of Waylon's. “You know, the clothes business is really doing great.”  
“Get off!” Waylon squirmed again. “I can't breathe!”  
“I've been invited to show off my designs and get my own company, isn't that great?” Eddie blurted it out. “I was really hoping to tell you on speaking terms, but I couldn't hold on anymore.”  
“Yeah... Great...” Waylon gasped. “Now please... Get off...”  
“You going to talk to me now?” Eddie asked.  
“Okay.”  
“You going to start sleeping in my bed?”  
“Maybe.”  
Eddie shifted, putting his weight on an elbow which was digging into Waylon's side.   
“Yes! Yes!” Waylon cried out, and Eddie rolled off of him.  
“Great!” Eddie beamed.  
“I'm going to have bruises now!” Waylon snapped. “I'm going to tell everyone you're abusive.”  
“Yes, please do, I'm sure they'll all believe you,” Eddie rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I just wanted to get back on good terms with you, I leave tomorrow, and didn't want to leave you upset with me.”  
“Where are you going?”  
“New York. Just for a week, and then I'll be back to annoy you.”  
“A week? Why didn't you tell me sooner?” Waylon sat up.  
“Well, you were mad at me, I finally had to. Oh, don't worry, you won't be lonely.”  
“What makes you say that?”  
“I bought you a girlfriend.”  
“Excuse me?” Waylon stared at him uncomprehendingly.  
“A girlfriend, I bought her for a week,” Eddie grinned.  
“How did you-? Oh... OH...” Waylon's eyes widened a little, “Oh... You... Um... You got me a... Prostitute... to keep me company? For a week?”  
“No, I'm just kidding, I just knew you would freak out,” Eddie laughed. “I did get you a present though, close your eyes.”  
“Nothing's going to jump out at me, right?” Waylon stared at him suspiciously.  
“I promise!” Eddie nodded, and Waylon closed his eyes. A minute later a bundle plopped into his lap, and he opened his eyes and found a puppy. A little brown retriever with white stockings and white ears, with a red bow around his neck, who started licking Waylon's hands.  
“Oh my gosh!” Waylon grinned. “You got me a puppy!”  
“I did!” Eddie grinned, and then there was a little yapping noise, and the box at his feet tipped over, and a little white puppy with brown spots on his back tumbled out, another red bow around his neck. “No! You're supposed to wait!” Eddie looked distressed. Waylon laughed, as the new puppy jumped onto the couch, wriggling his way into Waylon's arms, trying to steal some of Waylon's attention, much to the other puppy's dismay.  
“They're rescues, they and a bunch of others were found in a house not far from here. Three moms were chained to the wall in several rooms, without being able to move, where they had their puppies. The moms all died, and so did several of the puppies. These little guys' litter lost all but two of the puppies.”  
“Wow,” Waylon looked at the little dogs who were wriggling in his arms thoughtfully. “Kinda like us, huh?”  
A smile crept across Eddie's face. “Kinda.”


End file.
